Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Quad Piston

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was the most advanced strategic bomber of World War II and the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat. Developed under intense secrecy during the early 1940s, it represented a quantum leap in aviation technology with its pressurized cabin, remote-controlled gun turrets, and unprecedented range and payload capacity. The B-29 could carry 20,000 pounds of bombs over 3,250 nautical miles at altitudes exceeding 31,000 feet, capabilities that made it the first true intercontinental strategic bomber and allowed it to reach the Japanese home islands from bases in the Mariana Islands. On August 6 and 9, 1945, B-29s Enola Gay and Bockscar delivered atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II and ushering in the nuclear age. Beyond its wartime role, the Superfortress pioneered technologies that would define postwar aviation: its pressurized fuselage design influenced every subsequent airliner, and its Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engines—each producing 2,200 horsepower—were among the most powerful piston engines ever mass-produced. The B-29 continued serving through the Korean War and remained in various roles until 1960, but today fewer than two dozen complete airframes survive worldwide, with only two still airworthy. These flying examples are national treasures, representing not just a pivotal weapon system but the apex of piston-engine bomber development before the jet age. SkyMeter has tracked 15 flights across 2 airframes and 2 operators, with DOCS FRIENDS INC the largest observed operator.